Kobza's Komments

Last week I was going across the bridge on Whoop Up Drive and was struck by the beauty of the array of fall colors. It was a moment where I wish I had my camera out so I could capture the shades or orange, yellow and red leaves. The changing of the leaves is a signal for our thoughts to turn towards Thanksgiving.  The roots of the holiday are in being thankful for an abundant harvest, and I would like to focus on the abundance of gifts that blesses our school community.  We are blessed at FLVT that we have many things to be thankful for.

First and foremost, the community is made up of people.  Thank you to all the parents and students who make up our Van Tighem community.  We are blessed that you have chosen to become part of our community and that you share your gifts and talents with us. Our students truly feel a part of the school community which is evidenced by the number of Catholic Central grade twelve students who come back to do their Faith in Action hours with us – currently we have ten former students. I am also grateful that we have such a committed and dedicated staff who give of their time to ensure that our students have the opportunity to develop their talents. Whether it is putting many hours into preparing lessons; helping to supervise a tournament or dance; organizing field trips; running a student club in the morning, at lunch time or after school; volunteering at the book fair; creating opportunities for prayer or spending time on learning new and innovative practices, our staff is always willing to put in the time for our school community. The following list is a few of the activities going on during the month of October:

• Fieldtrips to Helen Schuler, Save on Foods, Water Treatment Plant, cross country zones, curling rink, soup kitchen and the Gardens.
• Junior high book club, scrapbooking club, and after school skating
• Father Salvador visiting
• Thanksgiving prayer service
• Parent teacher interviews
• Fire Prevention safety presentations
• Awards Night for our junior high students
• Junior high volleyball games and practices
• Weekly teacher professional learning time
• Teacher professional learning on Catholic Leadership in Alberta Schools, Faith Formation, Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment, Guided Math, Fountas and Pinnell Levelled Literacy Intervention,
• Staff professional learning on Residential Schools

Parents are also encouraged to become involved in the life of the school.  All parents are welcome to come out to a Parent Council meeting where they are able to give parental input into decisions that occur at the school.  Each month we will be presenting about an area of the school that parents may want to learn more about.  This month we will be talking about the supports, programs and services that are offered at the school. This year we are thankful that we have Tracy Rocca as our full time Family School Liaison Counsellor.  She will be talking to parents on Tuesday October 24^th at 7pm about the counselling services. In November, we will be learning about the programs that our student nursing cohort have been working on during their fall practicum at FLVT.  All parents are welcome to come out to any meeting and I would like to thank all our parents who work to keep our Parent Council running.

To ALL of you in our community THANK YOU for being a part of our FLVT family and I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving!